What are we still missing when service members come home “intact” on paper but feel amputated in spirit? We sit down with Rachel Howard, a 14‑year Army National Guard combat medic, purple heart recipient, VA program developer, and now U.S. Senate candidate, to trace a path from convoy medicine and CBRN readiness to building one of the first VA post‑deployment respiratory clinics, where patients had real symptoms and “normal” tests. The common theme is service: how identity forms under pressure, why it fractures after discharge, and what it takes to stitch purpose back together.

Rachel breaks down what combat medics actually do, the messy overlap between emergency response and daily primary care needs, and the hidden exposures veterans face: from burn pits to sandstorms and solvents. Our “Quality Questions” segment arms pre‑health listeners with an interview‑ready mindset: listen first, map patterns, and navigate uncertainty without dismissing patients.

Then comes the major pivot: why Rachel left a job she loved to run for office, and why healthcare leaders must shape policy before policy breaks care. Boots‑on‑ground voices understand trade‑offs, workflow, and consequences in a way white papers rarely capture. If you care about veterans’ health, diagnostic blind spots, and smarter healthcare policy, this conversation offers practical insight and a challenge to lead where you stand.

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Connect with Rachel Howard: Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn | Website

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Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. Whether as a doctor, a physician assistant, a therapist or nurse, here Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and understand your place in medicine.

What if AI could run every clinical protocol and you (the clinician) still felt more essential than ever? We sit down with Dr. Chris Seitz (board-certified in emergency medicine, licensed in all 50 states, and now CEO of Guardian Medical Direction) to rethink how modern care is built, supervised, and scaled. From trauma bays to telehealth, Chris shares why the “medicine is the medicine,” and how a functional, personalized mindset can live inside algorithm-driven environments without losing rigor.

We dig into the oversight gap that stops many great ideas at the door. Outside the hospital, nurses, PAs, and NPs hit a maze of state-by-state rules on ownership, supervision, and scope.

The future theme is clear: let AI handle the checklist work while humans do the healing work. For students and early-career clinicians, we offer a challenge worth writing down: if AI runs the pathways, what unique value will you bring? Learn the business basics now, notice where presence beats memorization, and design a career that restores your craft.

If this conversation sparked a new way to see your role in healthcare, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review with the one moment that changed how you think about your value.

Support the show

Please connect and say hello >>> Email me!

Support shadow me next >>> Thank you!

Want to be a guest? >>> Click here!

Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. Whether as a doctor, a physician assistant, a therapist or nurse, here Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and understand your place in medicine.

What does it really take to last in medicine?

In this episode of Shadow Me Next, I sit down with Johnnie Gilpen, a veteran, first responder, and pediatric emergency medicine PA whose path into medicine was anything but linear. Told multiple times that he would never get into PA school, Johnnie shares how resilience, relationships, and reflection shaped a decades-long journey that ultimately led him into leadership, education, and service.

This conversation explores not just how to get into medicine, but how to stay human once you’re there.

Connect with Johnnie : Instagram | Amazon

Support the show

Please connect and say hello >>> Email me!

Support shadow me next >>> Thank you!

Want to be a guest? >>> Click here!

Virtual shadowing is an important tool to use when planning your medical career. Whether as a doctor, a physician assistant, a therapist or nurse, here Shadow Me Next! we want to provide you with the resources you need to find your role in healthcare and understand your place in medicine.